May 25, 2011

Mayor Bloomberg probably won’t be there, but folks protesting the city’s policy of arresting people for small quantities of marijuana are going to picket his East 79th Street mansion this morning at 10 a.m.

They plan to issue a fake proclamation dubbing the Big Apple “the marijuana arrest capital of the world.” They say blacks and Hispanics make up 86 percent of all pot arrestees, costing the city $75 million a year. More than 50,000 people were busted on pot charges in 2010.

“The arrests are largely the result of illegal searches,” protest organizers say, largely stemming from the city’s stop-and-frisk program that has skyrocketed over the past six years.

In a dig at the mayor, they point out that Bloomberg has admitted to smoking pot and enjoying it, but he has still backed the arrest campaign.